Missouri man who killed 4 executed despite claims of innocence

BONNE TERRE, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man convicted of murdering his local girlfriend and her three young children was executed on Tuesday, despite claiming he was in a different state than they were murders took place.

Raheem Taylor, 58, was the third Missouri inmate to be executed at Bonne Terre State Penitentiary since November. It was the nation’s fifth execution this year, following an earlier execution in Missouri, two in Texas and one in Oklahoma. All were by lethal injection.

Taylor kicked as the 5 grams of pentobarbital was administered, then took five or six deep breaths before all movement stopped. In a final statement, Taylor said that Muslims do not die but “live forever in the hearts of our family and friends.”

“Death is not your enemy, it is your destiny. Look forward to meeting it. Peace!” he wrote in the statement.

Taylor, who previously went by the given name Leonard, has long claimed he was in California when Angela Rowe, her 10-year-old daughter Alexus Conley, 6-year-old daughter AcQreya Conley and 5-year-old son Tyrese Conley were killed in 2004. His supporters included the national NAACP, nearly three dozen civil rights and religious groups, and the Midwest Innocence Project.

But Taylor’s claims of innocence have been repeatedly dismissed. St. Louis County Attorney Wesley Bell, a Democrat, last week denied Taylor’s request for a court hearing, stating that “facts are not there to support a credible case of innocence.”

Republican Gov. Mike Parson declined to grant clemency Monday, the same day the Missouri Supreme Court denied a motion for a stay. The US Supreme Court declined to intervene earlier Tuesday.

Gerauan Rowe, Angela Rowe’s sister, said after the execution that it was difficult to move on, more than 18 years after losing her sister, nieces and nephews.

“I’m at a point in my life right now — I’m fine, but I’m not,” she said. “But I know that justice has been served. It’s quite difficult to move forward, but I think I can do it.”

There was no question that Taylor wasn’t in Missouri when the bodies were found. What is not known for certain is when the family was killed.

Taylor and Angela Rowe lived with the children in a house in Jennings, a suburb of St. Louis. Taylor boarded a flight to California on November 26, 2004.

On December 3, 2004, police were dispatched to the Jennings home after concerned relatives said they had not heard from Rowe. Officers found the bodies of Rowe and her children. All four had been shot.

A coroner’s first finding was that the murders likely took place within days of the bodies being discovered — while Taylor was in California. But at Taylor’s trial, coroner Phillip Burch said the murders may have happened two or three weeks before the bodies were discovered.

Taylor’s attorney, Kent Gipson, said several people, including Rowe’s relatives and a neighbor, saw Rowe alive in the days after Taylor left St. Louis. Meanwhile, Taylor’s daughter in California, Deja Taylor, claimed in a court filing that she and her father called Angela Rowe and one of the children during his visit. Court records said Deja Taylor’s mother and sister corroborated her story.

Bob McCulloch, who was the St. Louis County prosecutor-elect at the time of the murders, said Taylor’s claim of innocence was “nonsense” and that the alibis provided by his daughter and her relatives were “completely fabricated.”

McCulloch told The Associated Press that evidence indicated Rowe and the children were killed on the night of November 22 or 23, at a time when Taylor was still in St. Louis. He noted that Rowe made about 70 outgoing calls or texts every day. As of November 23, she made none.

Meanwhile, DNA from Rowe’s blood was found on Taylor’s glasses when he was arrested, a relative who took him to the airport saw Taylor throwing a gun down the drains, and Taylor’s brother told police Taylor admitted to the crime , McCulloch said. Authorities believe Taylor shot Rowe during a heated argument and then killed the children because they were witnesses.

All three of Missouri’s most recent executions were of St. Louis County cases. Kevin Johnson was executed in November for killing a police officer in 2005. Amber McLaughlin was executed on January 3 for killing a woman in 2003. It was believed to be the first execution of a transgender woman in the US

Jim Salter, The Associated Press

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